How to stop feeling down

It’s Sunday, 9.31am, and I’m on my yoga mat. I’m right in the middle of the room, surrounded by 49 other yoga addicts. Nothing unusual about that, except that I’m crying. In the quiet stillness of dozens of people intensely focusing on their breath I reach gingerly for my sweat towel. Hoping the teacher isn’t wondering why I need it already, thirty seconds into the class, I dab at my damp face. Continue reading “How to stop feeling down”

Repost from 2017: How to stop feeling down

Originally posted on The Writing Half:
It’s Sunday, 9.31am, and I’m on my yoga mat. I’m right in the middle of the room, surrounded by 49 other yoga addicts. Nothing unusual about that, except that I’m crying. In the quiet stillness of dozens of people intensely focusing on their breath I reach gingerly for my sweat towel. Hoping the teacher isn’t wondering why I need… Continue reading Repost from 2017: How to stop feeling down

It’s not cheating to ask for help

Not long ago I wrote about not wanting to go to therapy again, seeing it as a sign of my own personal failure. I felt similarly about resorting to drugs. When I came off citalopram last time, in 2014, it was a point of pride for me. I was proud that I had reached a point where I felt comfortable to go it alone, to swim by myself without the buoyancy aid. Without cheating. Continue reading “It’s not cheating to ask for help”

Skating around perfectionism

Somehow this morning I found myself wobbling on a battered pair of 1970s roller skates like a baby deer learning to walk. How did this happen?

In the honeymoon period, the days and weeks following our wedding, colleagues have regularly been asking me how I’m enjoying married life. In truth, just after the wedding I was anxious and struggling. I had lost direction, without the move to New Zealand, the new job and home, or the wedding to focus on.

Continue reading “Skating around perfectionism”

Reasons to be happy

As any of my friends can tell you, I’ve been a right mardy bum recently. Moping around, pessimistic about everything, whining and whinging and quickly turning into a snappy diva. There are many reasons for me acting like a stroppy teenager, but what about the reasons to be happy? Optimism Countless studies suggest that optimism has health benefits, so that sounds like a good place … Continue reading Reasons to be happy